The Indian National Satellite System or INSAT, is a series of multipurpose geostationary satellites launched by ISRO to satisfy the telecommunications, broadcasting, meteorology, and search and rescue operations. Commissioned in 1983, INSAT is the largest domestic communication system in the Indo-Pacific Region. It is a joint venture of the Department of Space, Department of Telecommunications, India Meteorological Department, All India Radio and Doordarshan. The overall coordination and management of INSAT system rests with the Secretary-level INSAT Coordination Committee.
The GSAT satellites are India's indigenously developed communications satellites, used for digital audio, data and video broadcasting. As of 5 December 2018, 20 GSAT satellites of ISRO have been launched out of which 14 satellites are in service.
The Master Control Facility (MCF) is a facility set up by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in the city of Hassan in the Indian state of Karnataka. Established in 1982, this facility is responsible for monitoring and controlling geostationary and geosynchronous satellites launched by ISRO. This was the only Master Control Facility of ISRO till another one was established in Bhopal in 2005.
INSAT 3E is a defunct communication satellite built by Indian Space Research Organisation. It was launched on September 28, 2003, from the European Space Agency's spaceport in French Guiana on board the Ariane rocket. The satellite had a launch mass of 2750 kilograms. It is the 4th satellite launched in the INSAT-3 series for INSAT. It was designed for providing high-speed communication, Television, VSAT & Tele-education services and was an important landmark in Indian Space Programme.
INSAT-3A, a multipurpose satellite built by ISRO was launched by Ariane in April 2003. It is located at 93.5 degree East longitude. It is third satellite in INSAT-3 series after INSAT-3B & INSAT-3C. Built at a cost of $53 mn, it provides communication, weather, and search and rescue services.
INSAT-4A was the first one in the INSAT-4 Satellites series, providing services in the Ku and C band frequency bands. At the time of launch, it was the heaviest satellite India had produced. The Ku transponders cover the Indian main land and C-Band transponders cover an extended area. It has a dozen Ku transponders and another dozen of C-band transponders. This spacecraft was placed at 83°E along with INSAT-2E and INSAT-3B, by Ariane launch vehicle (ARIANE5-V169).
GSAT-8 or INSAT-4G is communication satellite. It was constructed by the Indian Space Research Organisation, as part of INSAT system. GSAT-8 was launched on May 21, 2011, from Kourou, French Guiana. The rocket, an Ariane 5 was the carrier, marketed by the European Arianespace. First satellite to carry GAGAN payload followed up by GSAT-10 and in-orbit spare GSAT-15.
GSAT-10 is an Indian communication satellite which was launched by Ariane-5ECA carrier rocket in September 2012. It has 12 KU Band, 12 C Band and 6 lower extended c band transponders, and included a navigation payload to augment GAGAN capacity. Following its launch and on-orbit testing, it was placed in Geosynchronous orbit at 83.0° East, from where it will provide communication services in India.
GSAT-11 is an Indian geostationary communications satellite. The 5854 kg satellite is based on the new I-6K Bus and carry 40 transponders in the Ku-band and Ka-band frequencies, which are capable of providing up to 16 Gbit/s throughput. GSAT-11 is India's heaviest satellite.
INSAT-4E, also known as GSAT-6, is a member of the INSAT family and is a multimedia communication satellite that will offer a Satellite Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (S-DMB) service across several digital multimedia terminals or consoles which can be used to provide information services to vehicles on the fly and to the mobile phones. The satellite can be used for other social and strategic applications.
GSAT-7 or INSAT-4F is a multi-band military communications satellite developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation. The Indian Navy is the user of the multi-band communication spacecraft, which has been operational since September 2013. According to defense experts, the satellite will enable the navy to extend its blue water capabilities and stop relying on foreign satellites like Inmarsat, which provide communication services to its ships.
GSAT-16 is the 11th Indian communication satellite, meant to increase the number of transponders available for satellite-based telecommunication, television, and VSAT services in India. GSAT-16 is similar to GSAT-15 with each satellite weighing 3,150 kg and having power generation capacity of 6.8 kW.
INSAT-4B was an Indian communications satellite which forms part of the Indian National Satellite System. Launched in 2007, it was placed in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 93.48° East.
GSAT-17 is an Indian communications satellite. Built by ISRO and operated by INSAT, it carries 24 C-band, 2 lower C-band, 12 upper C-band, 2 CxS, and 1 SxC transponders. It additionally carries a dedicated transponder for data relay (DRT) and search-and-rescue (SAR) services. At the time of launch, GSAT-17 was the heaviest satellite built by ISRO.
GSAT-18 is an Indian communications satellite. Built by ISRO and operated by INSAT, it carries 24 C-band, 12 extended C-band, and 12 Ku-band transponders.
GSAT-31 is a high-throughput telecommunication satellite developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
INSAT-2D was an Indian communications satellite. Launched on 4 June 1997, and similar to INSAT-2C, INSAT-2D went out of order on October 4, 1997, because of a power inconsistency problem and was later replaced by INSAT-2DT, an in-orbit satellite which was previously known as ARABSAT-1C. The main aim of the satellite was improved communication. In the INSAT-2 series, INSAT-2D was the fourth consecutive communication satellite. The satellite was launched using an Ariane 4 rocket from French Guiana.
CMS-02 is an Indian Communication Satellite built by ISRO. The CMS-02 satellite is funded, owned and operated by New Space India Limited. Cost of spacecraft was around ₹400 crore. The entire capacity onboard CMS-02 satellite will be leased to Tata Play. The satellite was placed into orbit by using Ariane 5 rocket.
